Now foreigners throng Indian job market

Lisa Mary Thomson, ET BureauNov 9, 2008, 08.20am IST

NEW DELHI: India is once again the focus of the global job seekers gaze, but this time a mere look at the numbers and the variety of geographies will send you into a tizzy. Enquiries have been pouring in at the head-hunting firms from UK, US, Japan and Latin America.

And the interest has percolated from the senior executives to fresh graduates and interns who are looking at India as a challenging environment, which can provide them with worthwhile experience.

In fact, there has been an increase of over 200% in the number of enquiries that have come in from foreign nationals this year as compared to the corresponding period last year, according to a senior official of Kelly Services.

What's more, the turbulent weather in job markets in the last two to three months seems to have fuelled interests in India, which is expected to grow at least over 6% when many major economies of the world will enter sub-zero zone.

"In the last two months, it is believed that there has been at least a 3-4% increase in the number of enquiries.

Significantly, there has been an increase of about 200 per cent in year as compared to the previous year, which was marked by scepticism the number of enquiries that have come in from foreign nationals this," says Rajiv Mehrotra, country general manager, Kelly Services.

This could mean a substantial addition to the 50,000 plus foreign nationals who have been working in India now, according to foreign registration office.

"There is an element of safety and security in Indian market that is drawing attention, particularly of those in the US," says Surabhi Mathur Gandhi, general manager, Permanent Staffing, Team Lease Services. The interests to work in India are no longer confined to UK and USA nationals alone.

According to the placement services, many enquiries have been pouring in from newer geographies. "Apart from the US and the UK, enquiries are coming from Japan, Poland, Africa and Latin America," says Yeshasvini Ramaswamy, director, e2e People Practices.

Also, there have been significant departures from conventions with respect to the levels at which interest is being witnessed. While most foreign appointments usually happened at the CEO or senior executive levels in Indian corporate and MNCs, opportunities are also being sought out even at critical and niche positions where the specialised knowledge of foreign individuals will come in handy.

India is also seeing an upward movement in the number of people, even those who are from reputed business schools in the US, who are looking at doing summer internships in India and are being handsomely rewarded for the same. "There are companies that are giving their interns a stipend of Rs 60, 000," says E Balaji, CEO, Ma Foi Management Consultants.

Similarly, the profile of companies recruiting foreign talent has also undergone changes. While the IT/ITes sector was one of the largest employers of expatriates, interest seems to have shifted in favour of technology-related areas like telecom. "With technology in India reaching a high level of sophistication, the need for specialised technical expertise is crucial," says Gandhi.

Infrastructure, construction, telecom, R&D for engineering and pharmaceutical companies and energy are the newer sectors on the target list. Business consulting, which includes jobs of business analysts and those performing feasibility studies are also in demand because they allow for a certain degree of flexibility with regard to location.

Getting experience in an emerging economy like India is still a valuable addition to foreign individuals' resumes. Moreover, there are the added benefits of having a good working atmosphere and most importantly, the use of the English languages.

Hiring, however, is a different matter with companies faced with the important question of whether it makes economic sense at the moment to recruit a foreign individual.